White lacquer coffee tables combine the best of many worlds when it comes to choosing a coffee table for your living room. Firstly, they hit two key furniture fashion trends right on the nail. White and black are huge right now in all areas of fashion and home décor and the lacquer finish ties in with the current high gloss trend. Secondly, white lacquer coffee tables meet these trends in an understated way, using traditional wood and lacquer techniques to produce a smooth, durable, gloss finish, but which manages to retain the warmth of wood. This contrasts with the hard reflections and hi-tech feel of metal, glass or synthetic materials. This makes it easy to incorporate a white lacquer coffee table into a traditional décor scheme. But they can also fit into a more hi-tech, minimalist scheme too, with features such as aged brass fittings or distressed edges helping to soften the look further.

4 Living sell several sizes and styles of white lacquer coffee table, along with a range of coordinating white lacquer furniture for living rooms and bedrooms. Here we look at the main factors to consider when choosing a coffee table, how using white furniture can enhance the natural light in a room, and show the many different roles a coffee table can take within an overall decor scheme.

Choosing the right Coffee Table for you

It is often underestimated how much impact a coffee table can have on the overall look and feel of a room. It pays, therefore, to take your time when choosing a coffee table, but this can be easier said than done given the huge range of sizes and styles available. One particular challenge is choosing a table which works well with the other furnishings and colours in the room, and it can be hard to visualise the table within your existing décor. So it helps if you can narrow your decision down according to functional needs first:

Maximum footprint: What is the largest floor area it can cover while allowing good clearance for walking around?

Minimum footprint: What is the minimum surface area required to accommodate intended use?

Ideal height: What height is required for its intended uses (e.g. sitting at to eat or work, putting feet up on)?

Legroom: Can it have solid sides or shelves underneath, or do you need clear space to allow sitting?

Storage: What type and amount of storage do you need apart from the top surface (e.g. open shelving, closed drawers, and so on)?

Once your basic functional decisions are made, it then becomes a simpler task to choose details such as colour, shape, detailing and preferred materials. You will become tired of a coffee table which you can’t fit your legs under or which isn’t big enough for two of you to eat a takeaway from, far quicker than you will tire of a coffee table because of its colour or the design of its drawer handles.

Once you have the basics right, you can enjoy the process of picking a coffee table that appeals to you aesthetically. For most people this will mean finding a table which fits in with the design style that already permeates the room. If, for example, you live in a contemporary, minimalist property, then choosing a contemporary coffee table with clean, sleek lines will be important to complement other pieces in your living room. On the other hand, you may want to break away from the minimalism by choosing a more ornate style as an accent piece.

White Lacquer Furniture - Enchance the Natural Light

Just about everyone will judge a house or a room by how “light and airy” it feels, and many houses and flats have been sold (or not) on this single factor. So anything you can do by way of decoration or furniture choices to enhance the natural light and add a sense of space, will make the room feel more attractive. Opting for white wood furniture instantly increases the amount of perceived light in a room, rather than it being eaten up by dense or dark materials. Smooth or gloss finishes enhance this effect even further.

White lacquer furniture therefore offers the perfect choice for smaller rooms or rooms with limited natural light. And since a coffee table usually occupies a fairly central position within a space, a white lacquer coffee table can be a great place to start, as it will catch light from all angles.

The current fashion for high-gloss white or black furniture is, however, not to everybody’s taste. Some find the gloss just too shiny for a relaxing living space, making them feel as though they are sitting in the lobby of some hi-tech corporation, rather than their own living room. High gloss surfaces can also be hard to keep free of finger marks, especially if there are children around, and many find pure white too harsh or cold for comfort. An off-white lacquer such as that used in our lacquered furniture range, adds just enough warmth, while the traditional lacquer finish gives a more muted gloss effect, all adding up to a look which is completely modern and yet very liveable.

As a Focal Point

The fireplace used to be the primary focal point for a living space, being the place where people gathered. These days, the coffee table often provides the same function within a room, since most seating in the room will be arranged around it. The colour of the coffee table, combined with its size, will determine whether it commands attention or whether it becomes part of the background. For a coffee table to be a focal point it needs to stand out from its surroundings in some way. In a light decor, a very dark or coloured table will draw the eye immediately. But a white lacquer coffee table can also be a visual focal point if it is used as an accent colour within a dark scheme or placed on a darker rug or carpet.

The one danger with using a coffee table as a focal point is if the contrast with the rest of the room is so great that it simply looks like it doesn’t belong. There needs to be some tie in with other elements in the room, either in terms of overall styling (similar shapes or details) or in terms of colour. Most doors, skirting and window frames will be white or cream, which immediately ties in with any white furniture. But this can be strengthened without having to redecorate, by adding similarly coloured cushions or other textiles.

A design statement coffee table simply takes the focal point idea a stage further. It may even become an inspiration piece around which an entire room is decorated. It can make sense, especially if you are redecorating a whole room from scratch, to spend time and money on a piece of furniture which you know you are going to enjoy looking at and using for many years to come. Even if you do not decorate the whole room based on your favourite coffee table, choosing a striking design that you really love can really lift a whole room. And one of the easiest colours to simply add to an existing scheme without creating a clash, is off-white. The clean lines and simplicity of all our white lacquer coffee tables means that it is possible to make a strong design statement without needing to redecorate.

As a Blank Canvas

There will be times when the main requirement for a coffee table is to stay in the background aesthetically. Sometimes this will be because a different focal point for the room is preferred, such as a rug, a sofa, a picture or an accent wallpaper wall. Sometimes it will simply be to avoid visual clutter and enhance a minimalist decor. A coffee table with a white lacquer finish offers the perfect solution in this case, especially if placed over light coloured flooring or textiles to minimise contrast.

Alternatively, a coffee table can be used as a display area for flowers, decorative glass or ceramics or even the proverbial coffee table book. An off-white table makes a perfect neutral display background for more colourful objects.

As a Space Definer

In small flats or open plan spaces it can be a challenge to include all the functional furniture necessary for living but without over-cluttering a space. A sofa and coffee table together, perhaps with a rug, say “living room”, even if the other side of the room contains a computer desk, a kitchen or even a bed. Where there is limited space, separate dining areas are often sacrificed for the sake of providing extra living space, and the coffee table can become an impromptu dining table or homework table. In such cases the coffee table may need to be reasonably sizeable to accommodate plates and serving dishes, but without looking as though it dominates the room. Choosing a white or cream coffee table can help solve this design conundrum. A large, low height coffee table in a light colour, such as white lacquer offers maximum space with minimal visual clutter. Alternatively, a white lacquered ottoman offers a slightly higher surface and lots of internal storage - useful if space is really at a premium.

The size of the coffee table will also help to define how big a space feels. An over large table with little space to walk around it will make even a large room feel crowded. A small table with lots of space to walk around will help make a smaller room feel more spacious. But if you really need a larger size table in a small space, going for a white lacquer table helps to reduce the visual impact of the size.